


Zoo Adventure

by Lasafara



Series: Holiday Hooligan [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Going to the Zoo, Kid lisp, M/M, Multi, Raising children, SO MUCH FLUFF, Surprisingly aggressive llama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 13:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasafara/pseuds/Lasafara
Summary: Dean has been working more than usual, and letting his partners pick up the childcare slack. So he wants to spend some time with his babies. But is it more than he can handle?





	Zoo Adventure

“No, no really guys. I haven’t seen the kids in weeks. My job has been crazy busy, and you’ve been picking up all the childcare slack. I’ll take them to the zoo for a few hours. What’s the worst that can happen, right? Ben and Emma are old enough to help out with Claire. It’ll be fine!” Dean said, trying to convince Benny and Castiel.

Cas and Benny shared a glance, and then shrugged. “If you really want to, _cher_ , we won’t stop you. But you gotta promise to call if you need _anything_ , all right?” Benny said.

Dean nodded, grinning. “Will do!” Then he went to the bottom of the stairs in their three-bedroom house, and shouted, “Hey kids! Pops and Papa agreed! We’re goin’ to the zoo!”

What followed was a small tornado, with the three men helping the two 9 year old twins and two-year-old Claire find shoes, jackets, and security plushies. Lisa had turned over primary custody of the twins to Dean a year ago, after he’d finished his degree and landed a “hotshot” job that was better able to provide for them than Lisa’s job. She’d also made a move with her fiance to a town several hours away for the chance at a better job of her own, which had helped with the decision. She couldn’t imagine pulling Ben and Emma away from not only their biological father, but the entire extended family they had here. Dean had been sad to see her go, but he loved having the kids nearly full-time. It made working so hard worth it, when he got to come home to their smiling faces.

Or in this case, their screaming lungs. Claire was dragging around a Grumpy Cat plushie, chewing softly on one ear. She was watching the twins, who apparently were fighting over whose shoes were whose. Ben was wearing the left Spiderman sneaker, while his right foot was only covered in a sock. Meanwhile, Emma had on the right Spiderman sneaker, and was angrily stomping it while she screamed at Ben to give her back her shoe. Benny was trying to coax a shoe off one of them, offering the Princess shoes instead, but neither child was going for it. Finally Castiel went and found the Batman rainboots, and offered the left boot to Emma, and the right boot to Ben. 

“This way, you will be full of extra superhero powers, if you have two superheros on your feet,” Cas said. 

Compromise made, Dean hustled the children out the door and into the minivan. Baby was still around, but she sat in the garage most of the time these days. With a family of six, the Impala simply wasn’t big enough for all of them. Ben and Emma hadn’t quite hit the limit for not needing a booster seat anymore, and of course Claire still needed her carseat. Dean could have taken them all out and loaded them all into the Impala, but Baby’s seat belts weren’t really installed with modern carseats in mind, and besides, it was a hassle and a half to switch the carseat. 

Pulling out of the driveway, Dean waved at Benny and Cas where they stood on the front porch, and then drove off. Today was going to be fantastic. 

*****

Benny and Cas ended up settled on the couch, Benny lying lengthwise with his back propped up against an armrest, and Cas curled up against his chest, their legs tangled together. Benny was currently rereading the Dark Hunter series, while Cas was engrossed in a Harlequin Romance. The books were what Dean affectionately (and sometimes not so affectionately) called “trashy”. Benny and Cas had learned early on that Dean was a bit of a snob when it came to books. He read “literature”, and tended to snub his nose at anything that didn't traditionally fall into that category. 

Dark Hunters, with its connection to a young adult series, had Dean convinced it was too childish, despite Benny’s reassurance that it was not. And anything in the romance aisle was right out for Dean. Both Cas and Benny pretended not to notice, however, when their books would disappear for a week at a time, only to reappear back on the shelf. Usually if the men looked, they could find their books hidden away in the Impala, tucked carefully under a seat with a worn strip of leather for a bookmark.

While they didn't mind the teasing, these times alone without comments about their choice in reading materials were precious to them. So they curled up on couch together, Benny gently petting Cas's hair, while they read.

*****

Meanwhile, Dean was discovering that corralling three children under the age of 10 was not actually as easy as he'd thought it would be. Ben wanted to go see the lions, while Emma was insistent that they start with the Reptile House. Claire wasn't picky, but had quickly decided that the stroller was for babies, and the arguments between her siblings were boring, so Dean was attempting to mediate while keeping Claire close. It was a lot harder than he'd expected. 

Finally he grabbed the stroller and a twin, and announced, “All right. We're gonna start with the river otters and go through the zoo in order after that. Any argument and we're going home.”

The twins both whined, but quieted at a sharp look, and off they headed. Claire was adamant that she could walk by herself, which made the whole family move at an odd pace. She'd get intensely interested in something, running ahead or staying behind, forcing everyone else to follow her lead. 

Ben was fascinated by the lions, the reptiles were a big hit with everyone, but nothing topped the bear. Despite a moat and two fences between them, when the bear reared up suddenly as if to attack, every Winchester jumped back. When they realized what they'd done, they laughed nervously. 

“Us Winchesters got good reflexes, huh Dad?” Ben said.

“Something like that, kiddo,” Dean replied.

*****

Eventually, Cas and Benny had to get up. Dean was planning on being back for dinner, and Benny figured they'd have some awfully hungry mouths to feed when they got home. 

“How much longer do you think Dean will be able to handle the kids alone?” Cas asked, as Benny handed him some vegetables to chop. Benny and Dean were the real cooks in the family. Cas could manage simple things, usually from jars, but the kids could usually convince him to order pizza instead if he were left to cook. He was more than willing to help in the kitchen though, and cooking dinner was often a family affair.

“I dunno, angel. It's been nearly three hours. I expect they're getting tired,” Benny said. “Could make it easier to get them home.”

“I hope so…”

Benny turned from what he was doing and dropped a chaste kiss on Cas's cheek. “I'm sure he's fine, angel. If not, we've never been ones to put off playing the hero, right?”

Cas chuckled, and set the knife down to wrap his arms around Benny’s waist. “True. Dean would never let himself live it down.”

“Kinda makes it more fun, though.”

The two men grinned, and after another moment they separated to finish preparing dinner.

*****

Dean wasn't sure where he'd gone wrong. He was sure ending the day at the petting zoo with the goats and the rabbits would be perfect, but somehow he'd gotten hemmed into a corner by a surprisingly aggressive llama, while Emma climbed on top of the goat enclosure and Ben attempted to ride one of the miniature horses. Claire had, on the other hand, carefully given one of the zookeepers her Grumpy Cat plushie, and in exchange taken a very tiny, very fluffy bunny, and was now declaring it hers. The zookeeper currently thought this was adorable, but it was only a matter of time before the woman realized Claire had no intention of giving the rabbit back. All trades were final, in Claire's mind, at least until she decided differently. 

It took a very patient zookeeper to coax the llama away from Dean, and then he was able to convince Emma that the goat enclosure was not a jungle gym. Another zookeeper had taken Ben to the area set aside for actually riding the miniature horses, so of course Emma wanted a ride too. Claire was still clinging to her new bunny friend, but that could be dealt with later. Dean kept one ear out for her, to make sure she was okay.

“Her name ith Flushy,” he heard his tiny toddler tell the zookeeper. The zookeeper glanced at him, with a look that desperately asked _Did this child really just name our rabbit after a toilet mechanism?_ Dean shook his head, and hollered to Claire, “ _Fluffy_ is a fine name for a rabbit, honey.”

The zookeeper looked relieved. The conversation moved on, with the zookeeper mostly nodding along. Claire's lisp made everything a little more difficult to understand. It wasn't until she decided to name another rabbit that Dean had to step in again. Fortunately Ben and Emma were both done with their horse rides, so Dean could focus on extracting his toddler from the rabbits.

“‘is name ith Potty,” Claire said to a rather confused and embarrassed zookeeper. 

“Yes, that rabbit does have _spots_ , doesn’t he?” Dean prompted, giving the zookeeper a quick grin. “Now, let's put Spotty and Fluffy back with their friends, and get Grumpy back.”

“But I traded Gwu’py for Flushy!” Claire cried.

Dean knelt down and nodded. “I know. But Fluffy would be lonely at our house, cuz she'd be the only rabbit. Here she's got lots and lots of rabbit friends. So let's get Grumpy back, because she'd miss you a whole lot if you left her here, wouldn't she?”

“Yeth…” With that, Grumpy was handed over and the rabbit was released. Dean managed to get all three children moving in the same direction, and finally they got out of the zoo and on the way home. All three passed out before they’d been driving five minutes, and Dean was never so happy to be driving in silence in his life.

*****

Benny and Cas were ready when Dean arrived home. The lasagna was in the oven on low, just enough to keep it warm, and the salad was already made and in the refrigerator. Waking the children was never fun, but once they smelled the food they were wide awake again. 

Claire refused to eat her salad, insistent that Grumpy didn't like green food (“That’s my girl,” said Dean. Cas nudged him hard with an elbow), while Emma mixed her salad into a slop with her lasagna and ate it like that. Ben doused his salad with a spicy ranch dressing. 

The long day caught up with them, though, and by the time everyone had eaten their fill, three kids and one dad were falling asleep at the table. Cas directed the twins up to their room to get ready for bed, while Benny took Claire out of her high chair and headed up to the bathtub with her. Toddlers and lasagna were not a particularly clean combination. 

Once the twins were on the move, Cas pulled a very exhausted Dean out of his chair and guided him up to the master bedroom. Dean insisted he could undress himself, so Cas went to monitor the twins’ progress. By the time they were in their pajamas with their teeth brushed and their faces washed, Dean had managed to get down to his boxers and pull on his favorite robe. 

Story time was short, only one chapter of _The Hobbit_ before the twins were completely conked out. Claire, in her own bedroom, insisted on _There's A Monster At The End Of This Book_ , but was fast asleep before Grover figured out who the monster was. 

Dean groggily kept up with the other two men while they put the children down for bed, but conceded when they insisted he go to bed instead of staying up to help clean up the kitchen. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

Cas and Benny finished cleanup and straightening the house up after the whirlwind that was their children, and then settled in the living room on the couch, curled up together once again. Benny pulled Cas down on top of him, so that they were lying with their chests pressed together.

“I'd say Dean did pretty good today, angel. Three kids is a lot to handle,” Benny said. 

Cas laughed, and pressed a kiss to Benny’s lips. “I suppose. We'll probably never hear the end of it, now.”

“Just remind him he nearly died suffocating on lasagna,” Benny said, chuckling. His laughter made Cas move a bit on his chest. Cas laid his head down next to Benny’s and nuzzled into his neck.

“That _would_ have been unfortunate. Who would we get to fix our cars if he were gone?” Cas quipped.

Benny shrugged. “I suppose we'd’ve had to pay someone.”

The two men dissolved into what they would adamantly deny were giggles, and then relaxed. Cas pressed little kisses to Benny’s neck, until finally Benny shifted to get his lips onto Cas's, and they began to lazily make out. It wasn't until several minutes later they finally emerged, and only then because they had to.

“Damn guys, I know I'm tired, but you couldn't have told me we were necking on the couch?” Dean asked grouchily.

Benny and Cas both snorted and then Cas stood up, pulling Benny to his feet after him.

“Hey, no need to stop on my account. I was enjoying that.” Dean said.

“I'm glad. But you’re exhausted, so why don’t we move to the bedroom?” Cas asked. “We could place you in the middle, if you’re so inclined.”

Dean nodded enthusiastically and then swayed on his feet. Benny chuckled and wrapped an arm around Dean’s waist, helping him back up the stairs and to bed, while Cas followed after, taking the time to turn off lights and lock the doors. Dean crawled into bed, lying on his back and making grabby hands at Cas and Benny sleepily. The other two men changed into pajama bottoms, and then crawled in after him. Dean shared a heated kiss with each of them, before they all settled down curled around each other.

“Fuckin’ figures… First time I’ve been home wi’ both’a’you long enough for something to happen, I’m too fuckin’ tired…” Dean slurred, eyes already closed.

“I promise, _cher_ , you’n’me can get up to something fun in the morning,” Benny said, pulling Dean’s back against his chest. 

Cas let Dean pull him against Dean’s chest and nodded. “We can send the kids down the street to Bobby and Karen’s, and you two can put on a show for me. Sound good?”

Dean hummed an acknowledgement, already mostly asleep. Their arrangement might be unorthodox, but it worked. And none of them would give it up for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the last installment I have for now. I would be more than happy to add more, tho, so if there's something you'd like to see, let me know!


End file.
